Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
To,
The Honorable Prime Minister,
Government of India,
New Delhi
Respected Sir,
We, the pensioners under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995, had wholeheartedly supported you and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, with great enthusiasm and hope.
We believed that with the formation of your government, our long-standing issues would be resolved, and the elderly, senior citizens, and economically weaker sections of the country would see better days. However, we are deeply disappointed.
During your 10-11 years in office, instead of addressing our problems, your government has imposed severe injustices upon us, causing significant harm.
Since 2017, approximately 3.5 to 4 lakh pensioners have passed away enduring this injustice, but neither you nor your government showed any sign of sympathy.
It is with great regret that we say, we have never before witnessed such an insensitive government or Prime Minister.
The major points of injustice are outlined below:
1. During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, BJP leaders promised us that within 90 days of coming to power, they would implement the recommendations of the Bhagat Singh Koshyari Committee.
However, to date, this promise remains unfulfilled, and senior citizens of this country have been deceived.
2. Your government discontinued the provision of higher pension (pension based on actual salary) through a notification on 22nd August 2014, effective from 1st September 2014, causing significant financial loss to pensioners like us.
3. On 4th October 2016, the Supreme Court ruled in our favor in the R.C. Gupta case, but your government has yet to implement this decision.
Many of our fellow pensioners have passed away while waiting for justice.
4. On 1st April 2019, the Supreme Court again ruled in our favor in connection with the Kerala High Court’s decision, but your government filed a review petition and got the decision overturned on 4th November 2022, causing further grave injustice.
5. As per the Supreme Court’s decision on 4th November 2022, those who retired after 1st September 2014 and opted for the higher pension scheme are still waiting to receive its benefits.
There has been no increase in pension.
6. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) issued circulars on 31st May 2017, 29th December 2022, and 25th January 2023, excluding the senior-most pensioners (those who retired before 1st September 2014) from receiving justice, in which your government was complicit.
7. While your government increased the employer contribution for central government employees from 10% to 18.5%, it did not increase the contribution for EPS-95 pensioners from 1.16% to 8.33%, as recommended by the Bhagat Singh Koshyari Committee, thus discriminating against us.
Since 2014, your government has not increased our pension by even a single penny. The benefits we were entitled to have been withdrawn, court decisions in our favor have not been implemented, and various circulars have been issued that deny us justice. In our final years, we are being subjected to extreme suffering. In this country, where elderly citizens are considered the most revered, under your leadership, we are forced to protest and suffer without basic medical aid. Yet, you seem unaffected by our plight.
It is disheartening that in 2014, when the previous government decided to set a minimum pension of Rs. 1000, you falsely claimed credit for this in Parliament, which is highly condemnable.
While you declare in your speeches that the entire nation is your family, you seem unaware of the suffering of the poorest and most senior citizens of this country.
Your party’s Maharashtra government is spending lavishly on schemes like “Ladki Bhagin” and many others, essentially bribing the electorate, while our poor EPS-95 pensioners are dying without medicines. Never before has there been such blatant misuse of public funds by government leaders, and it is happening under your administration.
We, the senior citizens of this country, will be protesting nationwide on 17th October 2024 and pray to Lord Ram to grant you, your party, and your government the wisdom to do what is right.
Sincerely,
(Prakash Pathak)
National General Secretary,
EPS-95 Pensioners Coordination Committee
Mobile: 9822936284
Email: ppathak25349@gmail.com
Temple Bazaar, Wamanrao Lane, Sitabardi, Nagpur-440012 (Maharashtra)
(Dada Tukaram Zode)
National Legal Advisor,
EPS-95 Pensioners Coordination Committee
Mobile: 9405929678
Email: dadazode1954@gmail.com
57/58, Jaydurga Layout No. 2, Minish Nagar, Nagpur